TAMPA, Fla. — The University of South Florida's board of trustees have approved a design build agreement for an on-campus stadium during a meeting Tuesday morning.
The move will free up to $22 million dollars for design expenditures.
The university's goal is to build a 35,000-seat stadium with an indoor practice facility.
The @USouthFlorida Board of Trustees just approved the Design Build Agreement for the On-Campus Stadium. This frees up $22 million dollars for the design phase expenditures. @BN9 pic.twitter.com/WzJbE8Y36b
— Erin Murray Bay News 9 (@emurray1) March 7, 2023
The university will enter a months-long deal with two design and construction firms.
According to USF's project schedule, the university anticipates the stadium to be ready by the 2026 football season.
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New USF football coach Alex Golesh called it "the next step of our growth as a program."
“That image of kids waking up, doing whatever they do before a game and walking into that stadium, I think that is one of the coolest parts of college football," he said. "What it will do for the community, what it will do for the past 26 years of football players who came through here and built, through the good and the bad, built this place, and can say, tell their kids 'I built that.'”
BJ Daniels, the schools assistant director of development, called it a "dream come true."
“I mean it is something that has been in talks for a long time. I remember when I first got here n 2008, they even talked about plans of converting the University mall into a stadium," he said. "So to finally have that approved and moving forward with it, I think is a really big deal for this community.”